(SAVANNAH, Mo.) Plans are underway for one of the first mass vaccine sites in Missouri and the first in the state’s northwest region.

Savannah will be one of the 27 sites across the state distributing doses of the COVID-19 vaccine for Phase 1A and Phase 1B Tiers 1 and 2 qualifying state residents. The Region H Team will hold a drive-thru clinic Friday in the First Baptist parking lot.

Registration for the event is not open to the public at this time.

The team will be staffed with Missouri National Guard, the Andrew County Health Department, state emergency officials, and other area partners.

The goal is to administer as many vaccine doses as possible and the state has approved 1,950 Pfizer doses to be used at the clinic.

Gov. Mike Parson announced during a Dec. 20 briefing that he was activating the National Guard to assist the state’s vaccination efforts. He also said each of these mass vaccination clinics will have the capacity to administer about 2,500 doses per day. There will be one National Guard team set up in each of the nine Missouri Highway Patrol Troop districts. A team of guardsmen conducted a test-run last weekend in Poplar Bluff.